From being an Abandoned who had rarely left the Hollowed Grounds, to embracing the call of adventure, to dying and being reborn first as an Ascended and then as an Ancient, Maea has gone through quite the amount of changes in her life. One thing remains common, though, in her attempts to find out just where she belongs; she’s always had a craving for knowledge which has brought her to so many places and to meet so many people here in Caido. We can’t wait to see what else is in store for her!
Congratulations, Maea!
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Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
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She knows what that feels like, and she doesn’t stop him as he turns away for a moment. ”I had a smaller family to start with, I admit, but out of five there’s only two of us now. I get it,” she says, voice tinged with sadness though she doesn’t tear up at it. It’d just become so much a part of her life, her set of truths, that it hurt less. Sometimes it felt a little like telling you that her favorite color was black.
”Well, I’m glad to know I’m not the only one. We should start a guild...though I’m not sure what such a guild would actually do,” she says, grinning, enjoying the comradery that comes with being a weird bastard middle child. It was an unlikely thing, particularly in her case where both her older and younger brother were from the same man. John always seemed to know exactly who he married though, and she doesn’t think he ever minded her mother’s affair.
When he talks of the sea, she shrugs slightly. ”I would not know,” she says, though she glances in the direction of the water almost longingly. Perhaps it was the sea that called to her, but more likely, it was simply the possibility it offered that called to her. She chuckles as he calls Halo a frozen wasteland, and it’s clear no offense is taken. After all, it is a frozen wasteland. ”Yep, that’s the one. I assume our sea is a frozen wasteland as well, though you can’t get to it really unless you trek up and down some mountains.’ Who would bother, particularly given the dangers of said mountains? The waters that far north were too frozen to be navigable anyway.
weaver
-- ask no questions, and you'll be told no lies --
Nodding at Weaver's words, Saiden gave her a sad and understanding smile. "If you don't mind me asking, you and who?" The question was quiet, since he knew full well how painful these sorts of conversations could be.
"Mmm. Bastard things I suppose. We could get into all sorts of trouble." Grinning at her, he continued leading them on, this time through the port itself. His destination was a small stand that he could already see in the distance.
However, he shot her an almost startled look. "You've never been on the sea?" Underneath the surprise there was an almost pity, though not in a cruel way. "I'll just have to take you out on a proper one some time then." He nodded decisively, as if the matter was settled.
”Younger brother,” she says. ”I would get stuck with him.” Yet the way she says it, with a smile on her face and kindness in her voice, it’s clear she doesn’t mind being stuck with him. Korbin is her baby brother, after all, and she’s spent much of her life taking care of him. Not that he really needed it now, but still, she would forever be protective of him.
He leads her on, through the port, and her eyes drift as they talk. Halo might be home, but damn if she doesn’t find that she loves Torchline. A girl could get used to this life, she suspects. ”I don’t actually need a guild to get in trouble,” she says, grinning a little at him with that wicked grin of hers. Of course, she was in a guild exactly for that, and she wonders if that’s the sort of thing Saiden would be interested in. Though she has no idea if it’s her place to offer, and so instead she keeps silent.
He is so shocked that she’s never been on the sea and she laughs. ”I take it you have not actually been to Halo,” she says, still chuckling. The sea was simply not an option, and Torchline was new so the opportunity hadn’t exactly presented itself. ”I would love that, though.” Not just because she wants to experience it, but maybe a little because it gave her an excuse to see him again.
weaver
-- ask no questions, and you'll be told no lies --
At Weaver's comment, Saiden smiled, though it was sad. "I would give just about anything to have one of my younger siblings still." His voice came out quietly, and for a moment his eyes were distant.
Then he shook his head and grinned as charmingly as he could manage at her. "I'll bet. What kinds of trouble do you like getting into?" His voice was back to being flirty and suggestive, and he let his eyes trail over her openly.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but why would I go to Halo?" Despite the potentially harsh words, his tone was openly curious. Heading towards the stand, he reached behind it and pulled out two rods and a small box. Holding out one of the rods to her, he smiled. "I'd be happy to arrange that. But first, fishing." He was legitimately excited at the prospect.
She reaches out a hand and rests it on his bare shoulder as he speaks, understanding, though not pity, in her gaze. Pity does no good, but she can certainly sympathize. ”You can borrow mine, if you want,” she says with a wry grin, knowing that it does nothing to soften his loss, but figuring perhaps it can lighten the mood a bit. ”I am sorry you lost them,” she adds, softer. It hurt enough to lose one; she could not imagine losing them both.
She laughs though at this question, her eyes sparkling with their usual mischief. ”Fights, mostly. I have a tendency to dive into sticky situations.” Though she also has a tendency to avoid the ones particularly likely to kill her, knowing that though she was skilled, she was not skilled enough. ”Black markets. Sometimes boys. Boys are almost always trouble.” She winks, not necessarily meaning that she slept with them all, but they were trouble. Besides, she mostly just wanted to tease.
Her laugh is far louder at the next question though, true amusement in her voice. ”I keep asking the same question of every outsider traipsing through the portal. I do not know what brings them. Though I admit, I am biased, and I will tell you it’s not all bad if you have a good guide.” Like her. Maybe someday he’d visit her there, though she certainly doesn’t expect it or have future plans past today. Well, past today and ideally a trip out on the sea.
When he pulls out two rods though, her eyebrows raise. ”Huh. Fishing. We don’t do that.” It was too damn cold in Halo to fish, and she doubted any of the fish were the kind that would actually be caught on a line without just pulling you into a really icy death. ”You’re gonna have to show me what to do.” It’s clear that she’s more than willing to learn though.
weaver
-- ask no questions, and you'll be told no lies --
Saiden smiled a bit at Weaver's offer. "Nah. Wouldn't want to take him away from you." Reaching up, he gently clasped the hand she'd laid on his shoulder.
Eyes narrowing playfully as she explains the sorts of situations she finds herself in, he laughed brightly. "Well, I'm a boy and we've had a fight. Guess that just leaves black markets." Then he grinned at her. "Unless you've got some other ideas." He winked back at her, the motion somehow indulgent.
As she laughed, he smiled disarmingly. "Do you happen to know a good guide? Someone who can show me the good parts? And the bad?" His tone flirtatious, he let his gaze sweep over her once more.
"I'd be happy to show you what to do with a rod." It was clearly meant to be as ridiculous a statement as the words implied. Smirking, he led her back down the beach they'd just came in. The waters this close to port weren't the best fishing grounds.
His hand is warm on hers, and she lets it linger there for a bit, till conversation and fishing and other such antics might take it away. ”Hmm, I mean, I could have other ideas, but don’t tempt a girl with black markets in that case. The one is Halo is, like the rest of Halo, rather small. Here though...well it’s large here. Color me hopeful, I suppose.” It is her way of asking about it without asking, leaving him the opportunity to elaborate or not. She realizes you don’t just get into a black market in a strange place without earning some trust, but she’d wiggle in eventually if she could help it.
”Obviously. I am the best guide in all of Halo. I know all the best things.” Though she is generally just cocksure, she is pretty sure she’s one of the best tour guides of Halo. For starters, she loves her home, and will show you the good stuff. Second, she’s realistic, and she realizes it’s actually a frigid death trap. Third, she knows the seedy bits too.
At his next comment she laughs though, loud, half a snort of amusement. ”Oh, that was terrible,” but her smile is wide and amused, and clearly she appreciated his ridiculous flirting, and the fact that he knew it. ”But maybe I am feeling generous enough to let you show me anyway,” she says as she follows him back down the beach to whatever fishing spot he recommended.
weaver
-- ask no questions, and you'll be told no lies --
Laughing at Weaver's reply, the sound bright, Saiden grinned at her. "Let's just say that, if you know the right people, you can buy anything in Torchline." He winked lazily, clearly amused by her response to his words.
As she mentioned she was the best guide in Halo, his grin morphed into a full on smirk. "I, for one, am excited to see what you can show me." His tone was equal parts flirtatious and suggestive.
When she criticized his comment, he cocked his head to one side. "I never promised to be good. Maybe I want to be a little bad." Continuing to make his way down the beach, he shot her a smug look. "You'll find I can be quite generous too." He'd dropped his voice to a seductive whisper, and his eyes swept over her once more.
”It is always about the right people…” she muses, still looking a bit hopeful. ”You don’t happen to know them, do you?” She may not know how to fish for actual fish, but she is an expert fisher nonetheless. Sometimes she was just more direct than other times.
Eyebrows raising slightly, she cocks her head and gives him a sideways look as they walk. ”Oh, so now you will come to Halo?” she asks, her voice teasing and light. ”Only a few minutes ago you were asking why you would go to a wasteland.” Maybe not his exact words, but close enough.
”Bad? There are multiple meanings to that word, you know. And in this context, I’m not sure you are implying what you hoped.” She chuckles, having far too much fun teasing. This was her problem, really. The teasing, the flirting, it was the most fun part. Though not everyone else agreed with that. Okay, no one else agreed with that. ”Mmm, I would hope so. It will make up for you being bad.”
She really just can’t stop herself.
weaver
-- ask no questions, and you'll be told no lies --
03-18-2020, 01:42 AM (This post was last modified: 03-20-2020, 07:19 PM by Saiden.)
saiden
Saiden laughed at Weaver's question. "That depends." Smirking, he gave her a once over. "On what kind of person you are." Cocking his head to one side, he winked.
Snorting, he shrugged and arched an eyebrow. "Perhaps you've just made quite the impression on me." Licking his lips, he smiled at her. "Don't tell me you're not used to having that effect on people." His tone was teasing, though his eyes smoldered.
"And how do you know what I hoped?" He grinned, clearly not put off at all by her response. As they reached a small inlet, he paused, and set down his tackle box. "Don't worry. I'll make it worth your while." With that, he knelt and began taking various objects out of it.
She smirks back, her grin cocky and self-assured. ”I am the right type of person,” she says, knowing he is unlikely to take her on faith alone, but planting the seed anyway. It was enough of a start, and then she could see where it led.
”I am used to having that effect. That’s sort of the problem. Eventually you stop noticing or caring quite as much,” she shrugs. It is true. She notices what sort of reaction she gets from others because it helps her gauge the situation, helps her understand what sort of weapons will work and not (not all weapons are sharp or obvious). After that, she doesn’t much care though. It’s why she craves more than mere recognition or attention, because those things are simply too easy to get when you are pretty and carry a scythe. Hell, she could be ugly but still, the scythe was usual enough.
”Fair, I suppose I do not,” though she can assume. Yes yes, assuming makes an ass of you and me. She doesn’t care. Weaver watches as he pauses, setting down a box and digging through it. This is all so new to her, some foreign type of hunting, that she just watches curiously. Fishing. ”Alright, so what are we doing?”
weaver
-- ask no questions, and you'll be told no lies --
Grinning disarmingly at Weaver's reponse, Saiden arched an eyebrow at her. "That remains to be seen." He laughed brightly, though it was clear he was pleased by and intrigued with her confidence.
Still laughing, he nodded at her comment. "I bet a lot of people see your face and don't look any farther." He winked at her playfully. "Their loss." The words were suggestive, though not insistently so.
Glancing up from his box, he smiled. "We are fishing." With that, he pulled out a box of hooks and another of worms, though he only opened the former for now. Threading the hooks onto the lines, he opened the bait box and speared a worm on each rod. He held out one for her.
Assuming she took it, he'd turn to face the ocean. Then he would bring the rod back over his shoulder and cast it out into the water. It would plop in a short distance away, and he'd shoot her an appraising look. "Like that. Think you can copy me?"
He seems pleased, which is a good enough start. ”I am a patient woman,” she says. And that was somewhat true. In certain things Weaver knew how to be patient, how to wait for the opportune moment. It was something her mother had excelled at, and something she’d attempted to impart on her children. ”I am sure you will agree with me in time.”
She has to laugh at his next comment, and then looks pointedly down at her chest. ”No, I’d say they look a few feet south of my face and then stop.” Her chest was not overly large in any sense, but certainly it was not unattractive either. Besides, she’s pretty sure she could have had grapes for boobs and most men would have still stared. Boys and boobs. She didn’t quite understand the fascination, but maybe because she had them.
”I know we are fishing, but details…” she says, a playful almost-whine in her voice. It is clear she is being dramatic on purpose and for no actual reason. Though he is already explaining, adding hooks and bait to the line before handing her a rod. She takes it, watching as he casts the hook and worm into the ocean. It lands with a satisfying plop. Doing her best to mimic the motion, Weaver casts her own line. It lands a bit shy of his, though not embarrassingly so, and it seems she’s managed not to make a total ass of herself on her first fishing attempt. Well, casting attempt, really. They have only begun to fish. ”Who taught you to fish?” she asks.
weaver
-- ask no questions, and you'll be told no lies --
Toasting an imaginary glass at Weaver's claim, Saiden smiled disarmingly. "In time." The slightly teasing tone to his voice indicated that he wasn't as convinced as she was that she was the right people just yet.
He made a show of measuring her, holding up his free hand to frame her. Then he grinned. "So what, that's about your thighs, then?" Letting his eyes trail down her body, he let his gaze snap up to hers as he laughed cheerfully.
Watching her movements, he nodded as she got them mostly right, his gaze following her hook as it plopped into the ocean. "Make sure to flick your wrists a little more forcefully next time." As she asked who'd taught him, he glanced at her, then back out to the horizon. "My older sister, Vanya." It came out much more quietly than his other words, and more than a little sad.
